Jason Banis really put his new Century 1140 to the test, recovering a 60,000-pound fan blade for a wind turbine.
Century 1140 Rotator came into play. A transporter’s trailer carrying a massive fan blade for a wind turbine hit the concrete wall on a bridge, and ripped out the rear axle. A couple of fellow operators from Commercial Wrecker, Jonathan Cleaver and his driver, Ernest Guerrero, called Banis for assistance in retrieving the extra-heavy blade. (Although it supposedly weighed 40,000 pounds, the load cell on the Century rotator indicated 60,000 pounds.) “That was the funnest recovery I’ve ever done,” Jason admitted. “Nothing ever that heavy from the side.” Over a period of seven hours, lifting the bulky blade required using two main winches with snatch blocks, double lined and connected with rim slings with D-rings on the blade’s platform. Once connected, Jason had to get the boom in pretty quick with no hesitation. He basically just put the legs down, set up the rigging and swung the boom around. Successfully handling this gargantuan recovery really built his confidence, even though he had taken a rotator class for hands-on training. Looking back on the recent addition of the Century 1140 to his fleet, Don was careful about his decision. “Every time I buy a truck,” he asks himself, “Is it what we need right now? I don’t just go out and buy it. I look at how to pay it off first. I’m not a high-school graduate, but I’m not stupid.” This commonsense approach to tow trucks and equipment has held him good stead. More important, though, he trusts his son Jason to get the jobs done. Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
TECH HIGHLIGHTS Chassis: 2021 Peterbuilt 567 Heritage Engine: Cummins X15 Wrecker Body: 2021 Century 1140 Rotator with knee boom Custom Features: Extra lighting, spreader bars, puck flares, auxilary winches, leather upholstery Graphics: Dendyhill Graphics, Inc.
AmericanTowman.com | August 2022 • 65